Applejack Through the Ages
by TornadoandTwilight
Summary: When her daughter has to do a report on her family history for school, Applejack of Dream Valley recalls a long life and many adventures a humble little earth pony had lived though. From apple bucker to fashion designer, from saloon filly in apploosa to picnic preparer in a very different Ponyville. Experience the history of the past thousand years of ponydom through her eyes.
1. Chapter 1

_Family Appreciation Day-the announcement_

"C'mon AJ, hurry up!" The blue filly exclaimed, galloping down the hall at top speed. "Or we're gonna be late for miss Cheerilee's class!"

"I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying!" The orange filly with the yellow mane exclaimed, trying to keep up with her friend. "I can't believe we both slept in this morning!"

Rushing along though the hallways of Dream Castle, Baby Bowtie and Baby Applejack were desperately trying to reach their classroom before the bell rang. They had barely made it into the schoolroom, as their teacher started ringing the school bell, and were barely in their seats when the teach finally came back down the steps from the bell turret.

"All right, students, class is about to start!" Cheerilee declared "Please play attention!"

The rowdy group of fillies and colts finally came to attention, and fixed all of thier eyes on the teacher at the front of the room. Cheerilee trotted forward to the front of the class, and sat down at her desk.

"Now class, being as how we've been studying the importance of the Family to Ponyland society this semester, I've decided that we'll be having a 'family appreciation day every Monday." The pink mare explained. "Every week, one of you will bring a member of your family in to speak to the class about what they do for Dream Valley. But I also want you to prepare a report on your family's history, and what contributions they've made to equine society."

As the teacher with pigtails looked down at her papers, the students began discussing things amongst themselves.

"I know who I'm inviting!" Clipper declared proudly, tapping a hoof on his chest. "My dad Fireball! He's a general over the whole Dream Valley army!"

"My dad's a Pirate captain, so I don't think miss Cheerilee would like that much." Baby North Star looked down. "Blimey, I guess I'll have ta invite me mum, to talk about her exploring adventures."

"Ohh, this'll be sooo nice!" Baby Posey declared, a smile on her face. "I'll invite mommy Posey in, and she could tell the class all about pretty flowers!"

"I'm sure that'll be great,!" Baby Surprise declared, silently pulling a pair of cymbals out of her desk in the chair behind Baby Posey. "And I'm sure the class'll get a BANG out of my guest!"

"Hey AJ, who you thinking about inviting to your family day?" Baby Bowtie asked her friend, sitting in the desk next to her. "Maybe your dad could come in and tell war stories?"

"Nah, dad's helping out in the orchard picking apples." Baby Applejack sighed, shaking her head. "I'm gonna need something really special to really wow em'!"

"Ohhh, I know!" The blue filly beside her exclaimed, a grin spreading across her face. "What about your mom?"

"What? Are you crazy, Bow?!" The filly gasped. "The crankiest and most sarcastic mare in all of Ponyland?! In here talking about picking apples?"

Baby Bowtie just shrugged. "Hey , couldn't hurt anymore than Mama Surprise coming in here and talking about exploding whoopee cushions, right?"

"I guess you're right..." Baby AJ admitted, as behind them Surprise lifted the cymbals high over Posey's head unnoticed. "I'll go ask my mom tonight if she'll-"

CLLLAAAAAANNNNNNNNG!

"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"What in the world!? Baby Surprise, where did you get those cymbals?!"

"Miss Cheerilee! Baby Posey isn't moving!"

"Oh dear... Class dismissed, early everyone! Tic Tac Toe, Quackers, help me get Posey to the infirmary!"

...

Elsewhere, the adult ponies of Dream Valley were dealing with their own issues. And as usual, they were about as serious and immature about things as their foals

"So how many stitches did Baby Posey need again?" Bow Tie asked, as she and Buttons trotted through the Dream Castle courtyard. "Six?"

"Seven." The pink unicorn replied, shaking her mane in disgust. "If you ask me, both mother and child Surprise should be thrown into the loony bin."

"Well, I still hope Posey's little girl is going to be okay." The blue earth pony replied, as the approached the stage that stood outside the castle. "Oh look, Applejack and Cheeries Jubilee are already here!"

Up on the giant pink stage that resembled a baby's bonnet, the two earth pony mares were glaring at each other. It was well known throughout the castle that the two resident fruit pickers did not really like each other, and the fact that both were the final two candidates for the pony who would decide the theme for this years parade of costumes... well, that only made their rivalry all the more intense.

Cherries was dressed in her red flamenco dress, showing her off as the carnival queen most ponies believed her to be. And AJ was dressed in her usual formal attire- the pink and green dress with white polka dots- an ancient Rarity original, given to her by her fasioneista friend in another time and place. Both had clearly gotten all dolled up to make their presentations, but the question was if they could stop growling at each other long enough to actually _make_ thier proposals.

"Hello there, you two!" Buttons greeted them ith a smile. "Okay, hit us with your ideas for the Parade of Costumes gala."

"All right girls, picture this." Cherries stood up on her back hooves, shaking the maracas in her hooves. "A Cherry carnival, with banners and bows and streamers in a lovely cherry red!" She danced a step, and clicked her hooves together. "picture it! The festival can have a cherry-themed dance, cherry juice tasting contest, and-"

"Actually, ladies..." Applejack smiled, bumping Cherries with her flank, and sending her flying off the stage. "I believe apples would be the better theme for the parade of costumes!" She flipped her elegantly coifed mane, her green dangly earrings and hair gem glistening in the light. "Imagine, cider of all flavors at the Satin Slipper, a dance filled with all sorts of apple decorations. It'll be a glorious apple-tastic celebration of-"

"Why you old fossil!" Cherries snapped, storming back onto the stage. "It should be cherries that are the starring fruit of the festival!"

"Why you little brat!" AJ snapped back, snorting steam from her nostrils. "It should be apples!"

"Cherries!"

"Apples!"

"Cherries!"

"Apples!"

The two mares stood on stage, screaming at each other, while the two mares sitting down in the seats only shook their heads.

"This is ridiculous, they're acting like two children again." Bowtie sighed. "Why don't we just go with Posey's tulip theme this year?"

"Sound better than all this bickering." Buttons agreed. "C'mon, let's go tell Glory we made a decision, and go get a pizza from the Satin Slipper."

The two mares got up and trotted away, with the two arguing earth ponies too busy screaming at each other to notice.


	2. Chapter 2

_Let Me Tell You a Story..._

"Oh great B'zekre, what a mess that turned out to be!" The orange mare threw the door to her apartment open, stormed into the living room collapsing into her rocking chair. "I can't believe Buttons and Bow Tie would just... urrgghhh!" Putting her hoof to her temples, she messaged her forehead to make the pain go away.

"Lightning, could you please bring me a cider from the fridge? I really need one right now." When no answer from her husband was forthcoming, AJ simply shook her head. "Ohhhh, that's right... Queen Majesty has you out on maneuvers this week, scouting out what the trolls are doing in the dark lands." The mare said aloud, talking to no one in particular in her current anger. "Guess I'll have to get up off my fat flank, an go get the juice myself!"

As she trotted through the hallway, Applejack passed several photos and old mementos lining the wall. On the top shelf sat a plaque reading "Manehatten fashion competition- second place.", along with a wrinkled and yellow newspaper clipping of the mare dressed as she was now . On the shelf below that sat a pair of old granny glasses, and a faded photograph of several smiling ponies at a picnic, white the message; "Thanks for all the wonderful parties, cousin- yours, Apple Spice" written on it. And on the bottom shelf sat a painted portrait of a beautiful mare in an saloon girl's dress, surrounded on all sides by cowpony stallions. She barely gave them a glance as she walked into the kitchen.

"Ahhh, here we go." She smiled, pulling the decanter out of the fridge. "here's the magic elixir that sets free the soul." She said aloud, quoting a coltfriend from a long time ago. "Huh, guess I shoulda been a poet in one of my lifetimes." Pouring a shot glass, she quickly downed the yellow liquid, and suddenly felt all warm inside. "Now that's just what the doctor ordered!"

With a sigh, she wandered back though the hallway again, pausing when she saw her own refection in the vanity hanging on the wall.

"Oy, I look like such a mess." The mare declared, blowing a loose strand of her still coiffed mane out of her face. Staring at herself for a moment, ,she reached up with her hooves to remove the jewel clip from her mane, and rustled her hair around so it looked tangled and dirty.

"Haow's this, Boah Tie? Naow will ya'll listen to the hahmony bearhrah?" AJ belted out, trying poorly to match her old accent in English. "Ah reckon ah'm moah the mare everypony is expectin naow!" For an instant, AJ thought she saw the reflection of another time staring back at her from the mirror.

"Good grief, I sound just like truly!" She rasped out, coughing and gagging at trying to imitate a younger mare. After a few seconds, she reached up and brushed her mane back into place. Staring back into the mirror, the mare saw the same face she had gazed upon for the past millennium; ever young and ever beautiful. There were times she had wished that magical accident had never happened to her- but then she never would have had her loving family, now would she? Sliding the jeweled hair clip back into her mane, Applejack did the pouty thing with her lower lip that she had copied from Rarity.

"I do say, my good ponies! It would be so dreadfully delightful if you'd consider my idea for the Parade of Costumes my dear Buttons!" She elegantly trotted away from the mirror, her hips going 'squick-squeak squick-squeak' in the dress as she walked. Turning back, she gave a teasing look over her shoulder. "Surely anything I could come up with would be _simply divine_ compared to what this cherry-loving ruffian could concoct!"

"Well, that's at least more me than that hillbilly- 'thang' everybody expects." AJ stared at herself again, and smiled. "I wonder what Rarity and the others would think of me now..."

The mare sat back down her her chair againand started to rock, just as the door in front of her opened up.

"Mama? Mama, you home?" The little filly who looked like a small version of her mother trotted in. "Oh hi, mama! There you are!"

"Hello, my little apple blossom." Mother greeted daughter, picking her up and nuzzling the filly tenderly. "Didn't expect you home from school so early. Where's your brother?"

"Apple Delight went over to spend the the night at Rocket's, remember?" The filly laughed, sitting down in the seat next to the rocker. "How did the Parade of Costumes thing go? Bow Tie and Buttons like your ideas?"

"Let's just say... some disagreements let to things not going my way. "AJ replied with a nervous laugh. "I guess the ponies of Dream Castle still expect the legendary Applejack instead of little old me."

"Mama! Did you argue with Cherries Jubilee again?" The little earth filly sighed. "Daddy and I wish you two would just try ta get along!"

"Now you sound like the parent, sugar cube!" Her mother said with a soft laugh. "Sometimes wonder if you're more mature than I am, too."

The little filly just sat the for a moment, before replying. "Mama, an I ask you something?"

"Sure apple blossom." The mother replied, sitting back in the rocker. "What is it?"

"Can you tell me about your life?" She asked. "I mean, your whole life? Going all the way backwards to Equestria?"

"Well now, that's-that's quite a tall order there, sugar cube." The mother replied nervously. "Please do remember I've lived over a thousand years, thanks to that stupid anti-aging magic that Twilight wasn't able to get off me after Tambelon. You could be listening for quite awhile!"

"But miss Cheerilee assigned us a paper on our family history!" Baby Applejack pleaded. "Please, mama?"

"So Cheerilee's doing her 'family appreciation day' thing again, huh?" Old Apllejack sighed, sitting back into the rocker. "All right, apple blossom. Let me tell you a little story..."


	3. Chapter 3

_Why haven't you aged?_

Applejack slammed her back hooves against the apple tree behind her, sending apples down into the basket beneath the tree. It was a ritual she had carried out several times before, and it was one that she would carry out a thousand times more. Pushing her Stetson back on her head, the earth mare wiped the sweat from her brow with her hoof. Looking up, she noticed the red stallion bucking on the other side of the orchard had already finished his section.

"Good work clearin out that field, Big Mac!" Applejack yelled over to him, pushing her hat back into place. "Now, I thank Apple Bloom could use yer hailp with plantin' the seedlings in the bottom forty!"

"Eeyup." The old stallion hoarsely whinnied out, slowly trotting his way towards his youngest sister. In truth, AJ had sent the old grey stallion down because she was worried about how much more strain his old muscles could take bucking those apples. At nearly seventy five years of age, Aj often worried about how his was doing more work than he could take on.

"After the two of you get done, make shore ta head home before seven!" Applejack yelled down to the old stallion, as he and Apple Bloom started work. "Your wife said she'd have yer supper vittles ready by six, an' ah don't wanna catch any more heck from 'ol June Bug than I have to!"

The mare sighed, trotting back towards the house. It had been hard running things on the farm since Granny Smith had passed so many years ago, and AJ was busy trying to groom Apple Bloom and her husband for taking over Sweet Apple acres, so she could get some time to relax. The orange mare may not look any older than she had in her younger days, but she certainly felt the terrible weight of years upon her old back, as the decdes weighed heavily upon her.

"Hello?" An elderly but elegant voice called out, as a knock came at the door. "Anypony in there?"

"Heya, Rarity." Applejack smiled, sitting down at a table in the kitchen. "Why don't y'all come in, an' sit here fer a spell?"

"Ah, Applejack, darling! So wonderful to see you!" The elderly unicorn trotted inside, having a seat beside an old friend. "You're looking as lovely as ever, as always!"

Looking over her dear old friend, Applejack still couldn't believe how much Rarity had changed. A once long and beautiful mane was now a powdery grey. That once flawless face was now covered with the wrinkles and creases of old age, and what had once been a graceful and elegant trot had now become a shaky and stumbling series of steps. It amazed AJ that Rarity didn't need a walker, but she was very happy that her friend could still get around so very well.

"Glad ta see y'all visitin' again from Canterlot." AJ told her, as she brushed a stray strand of her mane out of her face. "So what's goin on with you city folk?"

Ever since their parting ways so many years ago- Twilight to rule her Rainbow Kingdom, Rainbow Dash to lead the Wonder Bolts in Cloudsdale, and Pinkie to run a comedy club in Manehatten- it had only been her in Fluttershy left here in Ponyville. And since the animal caregiver had passed, AJ had only rarely seen any of her friends, until Rarity had started visiting from Canterlot regularly. The two were the only harmony bearers left, and had grown very close over these past few years.

"Oh, just the usual politics. All the commotion going on from Dream Valley's hostile takeover of the now leaderless rainbow kingdom, and all that." She waved a wrinkled hoof dismissively. "But I'm not here to visit, Applejack. "I've sold my fashion studio in Canterlot, and I'm moving back home to Ponyville."

"What?! Rarity, have you gone plum loco?" AJ sputtered out in disbelief. "Livin in Canterlot an' bein a high falootin' fashionesita was always yer biggest dream!"

"Applejack, please be serious. I want to come home and spend my last years with my family and friends." Rarity snapped back, tapping her hoof on the table. "I don't want to go at some crazy party in manehatten like Pinkie did. Nor would I want to pass like Rainbow Dash, dying with her husband right in the middle of- of-"

"Ya'll gotta admit, Rarity, they went out with a whole lotta spunk!" AJ replied with a laugh. "I hope when it's time fer my last roundup, I go out in half as entertainin' fashion!"

"That's just the thing, darling. I'm starting to wonder if you ever _will_ go." Rarity responded, stifling a weak cough. "Not that I'm bitter, mind you. But haven't you noticed that you aren't even showing a wrinkle or gray hair in your older age?"

"Aw, it's just clean livin', an' that good ol' Apple family vigor!" AJ snorted. "Why, remember that Granny Smith lived ta be plum near two hundred when she passed. It's no surprise I'm still orney in mah older years!"

"I'm not so sure, darling." Rarity sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Applejack, you know there are rumors going around the capital, that the Reason Princess Twilight Sparkle died was because she transferred her youth to another pony? One whom, I might add, never seems to age a day?"

"So? Whut do I care what them city folk thank?" AJ asked indignantly. "You know as well as ah do, thait Twi died of a broken heart after her feller died."

"I am aware of that, Applejack. But there's talk among the Canterlot eliete..." Rarity placed a hoof on her friend's hoof. "Darling, there's talk of going behind Celestia and Luna's back, and investigating the ageless earth pony who may be tied to Twilight Sparkle's premature passing!"

"So they thank they're gonna come after me, huh?" The now angry earth pony snorted. "Well, if they thank ah'll just-"

"Applejack, think of your brother and sister! And think of the farm!" Rarity protested. "It would be better if Applejack quietly disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to her."

"B-but... this farm is mah home. A-and they're mah family." The mare replied, her ears drooping. "A-and y'all... y'all are the only friend ah got left."

"Applejack, listen to me. Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie... they'll always be your friends, and they'll always be in your heart." Rarity replied, tears starting to come down her cheeks. "That's what Twilight told me when she died, and that's what I'm telling you now."

"Ah-ah'm never goin' ta see y'all again, ahm ah?" Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, water slowly leaking out of them. "An I ain't gonna ever gonna see Apple Bloom an Big Mac, either."

"I shall keep an eye on Apple Bloom and the farm, whenever I can." The old unicorn sobbed. "And I shall greatly, greatly miss you."

The two mares hugged tightly, the bitter tears flowing from both of their eyes. Neither of them had any words to say, that could express the adventures, laughs, sorrows, and memories that a friendship that had spanned decades entailed. It was hard for both for them to say this final goodbye, just as hard as it had been to say goodbye to all of the others. And so, after a final visit and sharing of the memories of happier times, they said the only things they really could say.

"See ya'll lter, ya prissy pony!" AJ replied, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Take care of yourself, ya heyah?"

"Good bye, you messy slob." Rarity told the tearful earth pony one last time "If you really are immortal, make sure a future equestria remembers how _fabulous_ we harmony bearers were!"

And as the two departed from the house that night- one with a small sack tied and slung over her hoof, the other headed back into town, they shot each other a final smile. While AJ would be back to check on her siblings and the ranch a few times, Applejack would never see her dear friend, the prissy fasionesta with whom she had been though so much with, again in this life.


	4. Chapter 4

_Apple Back, Fashion Forward_

**Well, my little apple blossom, the truth is I don't remember how I actually said goodbye to my family and friends much, memory is a funny thing playing tricks on you like that. Anyway, after I left Ponyville I began wandering from place to place, buck apples whenever I could find work, kinda like I had after that whole Canterlot rodeo fiasco. I bucked apples in Tall Tale, I bucked apples in Fillydelphia, I bucked apples in Baltimare, and I bucked apples in Hollow Shades. It was always easy ta find a branch of the apple family to take you in for a time, and give ya work until you were ready to move on. They just accepted I was some distant cousin who looked liked their famous cousin, and they'd welcome ya as kin and not asked any questions.**

**_ So wait, that's all you did for a thousand years? Knocked apples off of trees?_**

**No little one, but that's what I did for a really, really long time. Buck apples, hang around for a few years, not talk much, and move on. After about the first thirty years or so, I came to realize that 'great Celestia, ah ahm immortal!' but it was something I came around to admitting to myself slowly. It happened one day, when I was sitting and looking over a rain barrel at an an apple orchard in Trottingham. Looking at my own reflection in the water, I realized that I hadn't changed in over a century. Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom were all long gone, and here I was still trying to be a pony nobody outside of a museum or history class even cared about anymore. Being an apple bucker had been my life, but it was then and there I realized I had been doing it for my WHOLE life. And I began to wonder if there might be more to life than just that.**

**_Y-you got tired of apple bucking? How could you get sick of your own special talent?_**

**Apple blossom, you'll often find if you do one thing for far too long, boredom sets in. My siblings' children and grandchildren had sold off the farm and moved into Ponyville, so why was I clinging to family pride, when my own family had thrown tradition away? My memory drifted back to my Uncle Mosely Orange and his wife, who had taught me all these fancy manners and proper ways to speak, and I decided it might be high time to put 'em to good use. Now as a filly, I had rejected that life and run home, but this time there was no home to run back to. The princesses obviously knew of my predicament, but were content to let me find my own way and make my own life, unless I had come to them with a problem and asked for help- which in, my foolish pride, I never did. So, using some of the money I had earned from years of bucking, I decided to get myself all dolled up, and make my way back to Manehatten.**

**_Ohhh, what did you do there?_**

**Well, I hadn't been back there in over a hundred years, so I decided to set about fining a job. Now mind you, I really wasn't looking to get into working in fashion or even doing anything glitzy, I just wanted a job to support myself and live amongst the sophistication of the great and glittering pony metropolis. See, there was this mare who ran a fashion shop I had heard about there, by the name of Glittery Heart. So one day I decided to pay her a little visit...**

"Ahh, five o'clock, right on the nose!" The weary yellow earth mare with a pink mane declared, looking up at the clock with a smile. "Time to pack it up, and head for home!"

Glittery always loved this time of evening in Manehatten- the hour most of the small shops and businesses around the city closed up their doors for the day. The cool spring breeze blowing through her door, was accompanied by the sound of several ponies outside trotting their way home from the bank or the diner or whatever place of employment. It was the conclusion of another work day, and time for the city's equines to take a well earned good night's rest.

Putting a few dresses from her inventory that had been left in the fitting rooms back on the rack, the young mare could only reflect on the fact that she had only moved four dresses the day before the annual Manehatten Spring Fling. That was the best sales period of the season! But nopony knew about her Manehatten shop, seeing as she and her siblings had only moved here last year, and everypony still shopped at all the big stores here in the city. So she really needed to get exposure for her fine hoof stitched dresses.

"I really, really need to find a model for my dresses for fashion week!" The mare with the pink hearts cutie mark thought. "If I could get my designs out there on the runway, mares would surely take notice!"

Oh, who was she kidding? The honest truth was she couldn't stand up in front of all those ponies, and present the dresses herself. Glittery was far too shy of a mare to show off or model her own dresses. Heck, she couldn't even deal with other ponies knowing she made the dresses, with how they'd be all over her all the time to make gowns for them. If there was only somepony to act as the face for dress shop, a mare with the charisma and style to act as the model for all the wonderful gowns she loved creating, in only...

Ah, well... her brother would be here in about fifteen minutes to walk her home (she was too timid do go by herself after dark), so she had better finish getting everything put away. As she put the last of the hangers away, a knock came on the door of her shop.

"Coming, coming!" The unhappy dressmaker grumbled, trotting up to the door and opening it. "I'm really sorry, but we're already clo-"

Glittery's jaw nearly hit the floor, as a sleek, athletic young orange earth pony trotted her way into the shop. Looking around, the naive-looking pony with the apple cutie mark spoke to the dressmaker softly;

"Excuse me... Miss Heart?" Applejack asked nervously. "I'm really sorry fer botherin' y'all, but ah heard ya was lookin for a pony ta help keep yer Dress shop clean, and ta keep things nice n' tidy. Ah don't know much about dressmakin none, but growin up on a farm ah know enough ta do simple chores and stichin, and ahm not afraid ta get mah hooves dirty..."

As the other mare spoke, the dressmaker could only stare in silence. Those hips, that mane... Glittery couldn't believe it! She was the perfect size and shape, not to mention those gorgeous looks, to model her creations on the runway! Oh, the accent could use some work, but their definitely some rough potential there. It was like a gift from Celestia, the perfect pony to do her modeling so she could sell her dresses ,while staying in the shadows!

"Ummm, excuse me... Miss Heart?" The orange mare waved a hoof in front of the dress, snapping her out of her daze. "Everything all raight?"

"Huh? Oh, yes!" Glittery blinked, quickly putting a smile on her face. Looking the newcomer over, the dressmaker bluntly asked. "My good mare, have you ever considered doing modeling work?"

"Me? A model?" The orange earth mare asked in surprise. "Uh, look, ah really appreciate yer offer an all, but ah really don't think ah could get all fru fru'ed up like thait, ahd trot around on stage."

"Hey, Glitter, you ready to go?" A pink stallion came in the shop's door, two pairs of roller blades slung over his back. "I'm ready head for home, and- oh, hello..."

This time, it was the orange mare's turn to stare. A flowing blue mane, a tight flank with a cloud cutie mark gracing it. The earth mare only gaped at Glittery heart's brother, who was studying the earth mare's luscious form himself.

"Who… who are y'all?" The mare asked, trying to keep the blush from creeping up her cheeks.

_Hook, line, and sinker..._ The dressmaker thought with a smug smile. "Ah, I see you've met my big brother, Glittey Skater, this is my new assistant and model-" She looked at the orange mare in confusion, cocking an eyebrow. "Say miss, I never did catch your name.

"Jewel." The mare finally blurted out, after thinking for a few seconds. She stared back at the handsome sports stallion standing near her. "My name is Apple Jewel."


	5. Chapter 5

_The Shining Applejewel_

**And so, I got a job as Glittery Hart's assistant, fitting her dresses, and practicing and prepping for Manehatten's Fashion week. The plan was I would strut across the stage in Heart's finest gowns, and promote her dresses for all the stores in Canterlot. We had spent a whole month practicing and going over my routine and presentation, while her brother took me out to eat at the hay burger every night after we were finished. We talked, we laughed, and had a lot of fun. And I really enjoyed spending that much time with such a fun and friendly stallion, even if he was a 'skater colt'. And so for a month I lived in the spare apartment above Glitter heart's shop, until one particular day Skater had a surprise for me...**

"All right, Jewel! Let's see you come down that runway!" Heart tapped her hoof against the floor. "Put some passion into your walk, let's see you work it, girl!"

The orange eath mare came strutting down the catwalk in the back of Glittery Heart's dress shop, the tight glimmering golden ball gown pulled tightly against her flank. Applejack put a firm determination in her trot, swaying her hips to and fro as she sauntered down to where the dressmaker stood. It was a walk that came to her naturally, just as it had when she had been showing Rarity how foolish she was being all those decades ago. It was something she remembered from a fillyhood in Manehatten, a past she had rejected in order to be her own pony. But now, it all seemed to be coming back to her very naturally.

"This dress was made bah Miss Glittery Heart, the fanciest dressmaker in all o' Manehatten!" The mare patted her mane with her hoof, winking at the crowd. "Y'all should buy her dresses, ta stock in yer shops!"

"Apple Jewel, sweetie... your accent is very quaint and rustic. But if you go up on that runway and open your mouth like that, and everypony is going to laugh you off the stage as some country rube straight off the farm." Heart rubbed her hooves against her temples. "Now, try and say it again, like we _practiced_."

"Oh, all raight." Apple Jewel groaned, rolling her eyes. Reaching back to what her aunt and uncle had taught her, Jewel spoke in a voice she had not used in a very long time.

"I say, ladies and gentlecolts, you simply must consider this rather stunning ensemble for your fine boutiques and establishments." The orange earth mare declared, batting her eyelashes. "And remember, this splendid gown is one of the many fine works in Miss Glittery Heart, whose extravagant fall lineup is available for your consideration."

"Wonderful, simply wonderful!" Heart smiled, clapping her hooves together. "Why, I simply can't believe how well you're taking to your formal training, it's like you've done this all before!"

"Oh you have no idea." Jewel rolled her eyes. "So do ya'll know- sorry, I meant do you know when your brother will be coming by the shop today?"

"Oh he's supposed to be stopping by any moment." The bell above the shop door rang, and a stallion walked in. "Speak of Tartarus, look who just trotted in the door!"

"Hey sis, wassup?" Skater trotted in, a smile on his face. I'm just here to pick up Apple Jewel, and I'll be on my way."

"Give me a few minutes, Skater." Glittery replied, pulling out a camera, and began snapping several pictures of Apple Jewel. "All right, give me your hottest poses!"

Jewel struck a pose, with one hoof in front of the other.

*snap*

Jewel put her hooves behind her head, standing upright and staring saucily into the camera.

*snap*

Jewel blew the camera a kiss, winking alluringly.

*snap*

"All right, Skater. That's all I need for the pictures I'm sending to the advertising ponies" Heart replied, putting the lens cap back on the camera. "She's all yours now."

"I hope you built up an appetite, Jewel." The stallion told her with a smile. "'Cause I have big plans for supper."

"Sure, I'll be happy to join you." AJ replied, trotting towards the back. "Just let me change out of this stuffy gown, and I'll be right with you."

"Oh no no, this is exactly how I want you for our date." Skater replied, extending hoof to her. "I'm taking you someplace nicer to the hay burger tonight."

"Oh?" A surprised Jewel cocked an eyebrow, wondering what the stallion was up to. "...this should be interesting."

...

The Black Beauty was one of the finest establishments in Manehatten, a small castle like structure sitting across from horsehyde park. Brownstone walls and a roaring fireplace, it was the most romantic setting a stallion could take a mare to. The waiter had put the couple near the fish tank, and Apple Jewel was staring at all of the exotic, multicolored fish swimming around.

"I must say, I never expected a professional roller blader to be able to get a reservation at a place like this." AJ said with a smile. "Let alone how one could afford it."

"Eh, I have a friend at the stunt show I work at, who used to be one of the Wonderbolts. That kind of connection, can be a key to many high places." The stallion frowned. "Say, you don't have to act all classy around me, you know. You can go ahead and talk in your accent."

"No, thank you, but..." Apple Jewel closed her eyes, then shook her head. "if I'm going to be a Manehattenite, I need to be able to act- and talk- the part."

"It's sounds like a part you've played before, dudette. The way you took to my sis's coaching and all." The stallion replied, as they waiter brought their glasses of water, and took their orders. "But I have a feeling it's not a part you like playing, at all."

"Well, it's not that, it's just..." Jewel sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "You know how I said I grew up on a farm, Skater? Well, that's the life I knew in my earliest years, doing chores and bailing hay. It was the life my pappy- I mean, my _father_- taught me when I was little. H-he and my mom taught us to buck apples, take care of the animals, and look after the farm."

"But they died when you were very young, you told me." Skater put a hoof on her hoof, nodding understandingly. "It must have been very hard, for you and your siblings."

"All I received from my father was his old hat- you know, the one you saw in my saddle bag?" The mare looked up at Skater. "But when I was small, I wanted to get away from the farm, away from anything that reminded me of theire passing. My aunt and uncle took me in, here in Manehatten, and were really nice to me. B-but it seemed like they were trying to turn me into somepony else, and it felt like they were trying to make me forget my parents-"

"So you rebelled against them, and followed the rainbow home." The stallion nodded. "You made the right choice, Jewel, your special talent and your heart lie back on that farm." Skater shook his head. "I can recall the same thing myself, when my own mom tried to stop me from rollerblading, I was miserable with the pony she wanted me to be. It's what's in my heart and mind- those daredevil stunts are a part of who I am."

"At least you were able to convince her not to be so overprotective, and were able to follow your dream." Apple Jewel frowned, and looked down. "But this fashion thing with your sister- with you- it's feels so right. I sometimes wonder if I ran so far and fast away from what my aunt and uncle were trying to give me, that I denied a part of who I was."

"You were afraid if you did anything 'fru fru', as you put it, that anytime you were the least bit girly, it was a betrayal of your parents." Skater replied understandingly. "If you actually let yourself enjoying anything feminine, then your family- your father- really would be gone."

Apple Jewel's shoulder's suddenly slumped, and she buried her face in her hooves in her face. The stallion leaned over the table, and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Jewel, listen to me... just because you are your own pony, doesn't mean you are forgetting who you are, or where you came from." She looked up into the stallions eyes, and saw his warm face smiling at her. "Your parents -your family- will always be in your heart, no matter what."

Staring back at the stallion, Apple Jewel suddenly leaned forward, and kissed him squarely on the lips. Suddenly pulling back, she noticed both of their faces had turned a deep red, and both of them were quiet for the rest of the meal.

**Needless to say, things proceeded smoothly from there. Heart taught me stitching sewing, and all sorts of little fashoniesta tricks to trim up and work on dresses. She really reminded me of an old friend, and it made me sad that Rarity and I had never had the chance to bond like that because of my stubbornness. But I was grateful I was getting the opportunity to live a whole new life, now with such a wonderful new friend. Why I was getting to try all sorts of new things, stuff I had never gotten the chance to do with my old friends!**

**_So what happened after that?_**

**Well, as the date of her dress presentation loomed, we stepped up our game. I started staying over nights at the Glitter Twins place, in order to take more time with my training and rehearsal, both day and night. But on the morning before the fashion presentation, something really bad happened...**

As the alarm clock went off, the orange mare lying in the bed stretched her hooves and yawned, before reaching over to turn the clock off.

"Uggh..." Apple Jewel groaned, throwing her covers off. "I need to lay off the late night apple snacks."

Blinking as the sunlight came into her eyes, she noticed vacant spot next to her with the covers already thrown off.

"Skater, where are you?" The mare said with a mischievous smile, calling out to the hallway. "It's still early, come back.."

When no response came, she trotted out to the kitchen. There, she saw Glittering Skater standing over his sister, who was laying on her couch and sneezing.

"Skater, what going on?" Apple Jewel asked, starting to worry. "What's wrong with Heart?"

"Bad news, AJ." The stallion looked up at her, a panicked look on his face. "My sis has come down with the flu, and there's no way she'll be able to go to the presentation today!"

"What?!" Jewel suddenly went pale. "B-but I can't do the show all by myself!"

"I'm afraid, my dear Apple Jewel..." The mare coughed and gagged, putting a hankie up to her mouth. "That is exactly what you're going to have to do!"


	6. Chapter 6

_Trot the Trot, talk the talk!_

**Glittery Heart was scheduled to appear in the Manehatten fashion competition, where I would modell some of the finest pieces of her work for some the biggest ponies in the industry. But when she came down with that nasty sickness, I was left with showing off her finest work. Fortunately, her brother Skater and I did come up with a plan at the last minute...**

Nearly a hundred ponies were gathered in the large auditorium, all talking and gossiping amongst themselves. Most looked bored and disinterested, as if they'd merely be presented with what they had seen a thousand time before. But one or two hopefuls among the industry's elite were scattered throughout the crowd, holding out a desperate hope that something new would impress them.

"Well, well, well, Berry Bright!" A mare declared, sitting down in a chair next to an orange pony with a golden mane. "Still coming to there events, hoping to find your line of clothing store's next big thing?"

"I'm here for the same reason Manehatten's trendiest and richest pony is." She told Ivy League, the aqua coated mare with the pink and purple mane. "That somewhere in this morass and boring collection of profit-driven and focus-group crafted drivel, there is still a shred of creativity among these so-called 'fashionestas', and you'll see something original and exciting this year."

"What a shame we live in such times, Berry." Ivy replied with a sigh, lowering her sunglasses. "If only the real artists, like Coco Pommel and Rarity were still around. They'd show these horseshoe licking toadies's a thing or two about fashion!"

The two mare's conversation was cut off, as the lights were lowered, and the fashion show began. Models came trotting up and down the runway, clad in the same old dime-a-dozen dresses that had decorated store shelves for decades. It seemed like it would be just another hum-drum show, when an orange earth pony suddenly stepped out on stage, her legs sqeaking beneath the fabric of her dress.

SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK SQUIRK-SKWIK

"Hello, ladies and gentleponies!" The mare cooed provocatively, blowing the side of the room with the few males in the room a kiss. "As many of you know, life is a wonderful celebration! And we feel you should celebrate it with the Glittery heart line of dresses and garments!"

The mare then proceeded to promenade across the stage in one outfit or another. First a long purple evening gown with shimmering couture, then a soft green ball gown made of a transparent fabric. By the time the mare with the elegantly coifed mane had paraded out in a set of white slinky lingerie with ruffled bottoms and lacy leggings connected by straps, the two earth mares in the audience had sat up and taken notice.

Neither of them noticed the nervous mare constantly exchanging glances with a stallion in the audience, who kept giving her reassuring nods and glances as she carried out her little act. The outwardly calm and collected mare was unsure if she could have made it through the stressful experience without Skater's support, and words could not express how incredibly grateful she was for it.

"Hey, just who is that pony?" Berry asked in surprise. "I've never seen her at any of the fashion shows before!"

"Oh, that must be Applejewel, I've heard of her." Berry replied, not taking her eyes off the model. "She's the assistant of that new dressmaker in town, Glittery Heart. Boy, she certainly can market those outfits!"

It wasn't so much the clothing, which while it was good, didn't stand out in any unique way from the show's other offerings. Instead, it was the way Applejewel presented the outfits, displaying a charisma and gusto that really made it seem she was _excited_ about the outfits she was modeling. It was such a contagious energy, that it couldn't help but infect the two rich and influential mares sitting in the audience below.

"Oh excuse me, Miss Applejewel?" Ivy declared, trotting up to AJ after the show. "I'm truly sorry you didn't win the competition, but... I was wondering if I could commission you to make about a dozen or so custom dresses for some friends and I? We so do need some stunning new outfits for our cruise to the Griffon kingdoms!"

"Pardon me, Madame Jewel." Berry added, trotting up behind the rich pony. "But if it isn't too much trouble, I would like to discuss the possibility of featuring your employers' outfits in my chain of fashion boutiques. I can of course, make a very generous offer for your personal services in endorsing the line..."

"This is it, AJ! This is what we were hoping for!" Skater whispered in her ear, barely containing his smile. "You and my sister have both hit the big time!"

**And he was right, we really had hit the big time! What followed for me was many different photo shoots and grand openings... it was such a flurry of activity and attention I really wasn't used to! But Skater and Glittery helped this poor little farm pony through the whole thing, and I was able to deal with all the stares and judging glares from some of the most important ponies in Manehatten. But I was unable too see the cracks already forming in plaster of my new life...**

"I really can't thank you enough for coming to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Berry's new store." Applejewel sighed as she sat in front of the vanity in her room, and brushing her mane as she stared at her reflection. "I don't know how I'd handle all this craziness without you and your sister around."

"Hey, you know I'll always be there for you babe, I'd never leave you hanging." He replied with a laugh, tying the laces on his skates together, and hanging them on the wall. "By the way, I was hoping you'd be able to come to my skating tryouts for the Equestria Games tomorrow. I know you've been busy with appearances and stuff, but you haven't been to one of my rollerblading events in months, and this is really important to me!"

"Of course I'll be there! You're always there for me when I need you!" AJ smiled, turning around to face him. "I did have a photo shoot scheduled for tomorrow, but I think I can cancel it for something this important to you."

"That's good, I'm really glad!" The stallion replied, trotting up behind her, and putting his hooves around her soft neck. "Because the royal princesses themselves are going to be at this year's tryouts to watch! Can you believe it?"

"The.. royal princesses? Celestia and Luna?" All the color suddenly drained from Applejewel's face, as she thought of the two mares she hadn't seen in many, many years. "Wow, that's... that's so incredible for you! Congratulations!"

"Not as wonderful as you are, Jewel!" He smiled, as AJ turned around to face him. "I'm so happy you came into my life."

Skater playfully tackled her, causing AJ to come down on the bed on her stomach, with Skater landing right on top of her. The stallion gently kissed the back of her neck, as Jewel's apprehensions about the possible alicorn reunion tomorrow slowly drifted out of her mind.

"Awww, Skater!" The orange mare giggled playfully, her flank going up. "Ya'll always know how ta hit the mark!"


	7. Chapter 7

_Breaking up is hard to do_

The crowd roared with thunderous hoof applause at Maneison Square Garden, with photographers lights flashing all over the arena, and the rabid fans screaming in the aisles. Standing at the top of the large ramp the stunt ponies had set up, he looked down at the obstacles below him; two large flaming hoops, with a hark tank between them, and the second ramp for him to land on the opposite side.

_"Okay Skater, this is it... stay focused on the stunt."_ The stallion thought to himself, looking straight ahead, and trying to put everything else out of his mind. _"One mistake , and you're shark food- well, if the unicorn emergency team doesn't get you in a magic net, that is."_

With a nervous sigh, the extreme sports pony's eyes scanned the crowd around him. In the royal box far above, the two Alicorn sister watched, flanked on either side by their royal guards. When that failed to take some of the pressure off of the stallion's mind, he looked down o the seats he had set aside in the front row, where his sister Glittery sat, cheering him on.

"Yaaaay Skater! Whoo hoo!" The mare called out, enthusiastically cheering him on. "You can do it!"

But when he looked at the empty seat next to her, he saw the other mare he's really hope would show up to cheer him on wasn't anywhere in sight.

_"I-it's okay, she's probably just sleeping in late, that's all."_ He told himself, stifling the hurt and disappointment that was creeping up inside of him. _"We were up horsing around really late last night, after all."_

Taking a deep breath, the earth stallion pushed himself down the ramp, picking up speed before his forward momentum sent him flying off the edge. Soaring forward, Skater went deftly flying through the first hoop, gracefully soared over the shark tank, and shot through the second hoop with only a mild singe to his well-groomed coat. The crowd suddenly exploded into cheers the second he landed, and two nods of approval came from the two alicorns in the royal booth above him.

But no matter how great his success was, the stallion just couldn't get that empty seat out of his mind.

**I had gone on to my photo shoot, nervously trying to avoid running into the two princesses I hadn't seen in over a century. What was I going to say to them? How would I explain where I'd been and what I'd been doing over the past century? But I was about to pay for my mistake dearly...**

"Hey Skater, welcome back!" AJ called out to him from the shower, as she heard the door open and close. "How did your tryouts go? Did you qualify for the Equestria games?"

The only sound Jewel heard in response was his slamming his skates down on the table, and his hooves angrily stomping his way back to the bedroom. Turning the water off, the orange mare quickly dried herself, and came out to see what was the matter.

"Babe, what's wrong?" She asked, trotting over to nuzzle him. But the stallion only pulled away in anger, scowling at me with a betrayed look in his eyes. "Did something happen?"

"My sister told me she found out you went to the photo shoot." He snorted accusingly. "Even after you promised me you'd be there when I needed your support most, you weren't there for me!"

"Of course I wasn't there! I had my career to think about!" AJ lied, trying to cover her own apprehension. "I'm only tryng to help your sister with her dresses, that's the reason she hired me on in the first place, remember?"

"You've could have made some time for me, AJ!" He scowled, glaring at me with a look of betrayal and hurt. "I was always there for you when you needed me!"

_** He broke up with you, didn't he?**_

**Yes, apple blossom, he did. Not right then, of course, but that was kind of the beginning of the end right there. I continued my modeling career for several months with Glittery, having moved back into the apartment above her shop, but things were never the same. But it wasn't long before I received a visit from two old friends, ones that would be the killing blow to this first lifetime I had lived.**

"All right, Apple Jewel... let's see you work it!" The photographer pony declared, snapping pictures of the mare. "Show of that pizzazz and style like only you can!"

AJ was sitting on a swing perched above a swimming pool, wearing a blue ruffled one piece bathing suit, and smiling for the camera. As the photographer finished his work and they went for a break, Berry Bright and Glittery Heart totted up to the mare, who was drinking some fluid out of her water bottle.

"Wonderful job as always, AJ!" Glittery congratulated her, giving her a hoof pat on the back. "This is just the thing we need to promote my new line of swimsuits to the public!"

"And it's simply marvelous that it'll be _my_ stores that'll carry the new line exclusively!" Berry whinnied gleefully. Then, adding almost as an afterthought; "So sorry to hear about you and Skater though, I thought you two were such a cute couple!"

"Oh, don't worry about him, my brother's already bouncing back from it." Glittery interrupted, before Jewel even had a chance to respond. "Why, he's set to perform in the Equestria games next week, and I'm sure he'll bring home a medal!" The dressmaker looked back towards AJ. "What our dear model here needs to concentrate on is making my newest creations look good, isn't that right?"

AJ could believe how distant Glittery heart had become since she had split up with the dressmaker's brother. It was as if they had never been friends, and the mare was simply a tool to promote her work. It saddened the former farm pony that a friendship had fractured so easily, and she was almost right back where she started when she had first come to Manehatten two years ago.

It was at that point, that a pale Ivy League came galloping into the shop, running up to AJ with wide eyes. The mare seemed overly exited, almost gasping for breath as she tried to talk to the pony model.

"Jewel! You're never going to believe who's come to town, just to meet you!" The earth mare gasped out, looking up at AJ. "They're big, big admirers of your work, and wanted to talk to you in person!"

"Seriously Ivy, it can't really be anypony _that_ exciting!" Berry Bright sighed, shaking her mane. "I mean, Apple Jewel meets celebrities all the time! Who could possibly-!"

It was then that two tall, regal-looking alicorns in crowns came trotting into the room. Everypony present, even the two rich and influential mares, bowed to the two monarchs. Leaving only the stunned AJ still standing there in shock.

"Hello, fair Apple Jewel." A familiar voice called out, one that the earth mare had not heard in ages. "It hath been many years since we hath seenest thou last."

**_ Princess Luna!_**

**_That's right, my little Apple Blossom. And it was right then that, as the humans say, I knew 'my goose was cooked'_**


	8. Chapter 8

_Pony questions, Alicorn Awnsers_

"Why hello, my good princesses." Apple Jewel said nervously, bowing two the two alicorns. "It is both a pleasure and an honor to meet two such esteemed personages such as yourselves."

"No offense, Fair Applejack, but please cease with this insulting charade!" Luna snorted indignantly, looking down at the nervous mare with scorn. "Mine sister and I doth both surmise who thou actually art. Thine false deception doth stand before us, revealed for all to see!"

The three ponies had gone back into a storage room to talk, and it didn't take long for the former apple bucker realized the jig was up. With a sigh, she guiltily raised her eyes to look at the two alicorn princesses.

"All right, your highnesses...yes, it's me." She admitted, bowing to them both. "I'm sorry that I tried to deceive the two of you."

"I will admit, my dear Applejack," Celestia replied, in the quiet yet humorous manner that AJ remembered. "it was a very creative and convincing disguise."

"But my fair Applejack," The Lunar Princess asked in shock, upon hearing the words coming out of the eath pony's mouth. "What hath happened to thine accent most rustic?"

"Oh, my voice? Well, I had to adjust to living in a sophisticated city like Manehatten, and-" The mare stopped, looking back at the two flowing maned princesses wide-eyed. "Wait, aren't you surprised to see me here alive? I mean, it's been over a hundred years since the last time I saw either of you!"

"Didst thou not think we were aware of thine survival?" Luna asked indignantly. "Hast thou forgotten who doth watch over thine dreams each night? Didst thou not think we wouldst notice thee not?"

"Besides, we have other connections throughout the kingdom." The white alicorn added, finishing her sister's thought. "We were more concerned about how you've been doing since the old days."

"But... if you knew where I was, why didn't you come after me?" A beildered AJ inquired. "Why didn't you try to find me, or come after me?"

"We did believe it best to letest thou live thy own life, free from our eternal influence." Luna replied knowingly. "It was best to let thine find thine own happiness, in a world that can be so unkind to our little ponies."

"But we were concerned about why you ran away from the event where your very special somepony needed you the most." Celestia added, flexing her graceful wings. "Wasn't Skater always there for you, when you needed his support the most?"

Applejack tried to speak, tried to justify her actions, but the words stuck in her throat. Closing her eyes tightly the little orange earth mare began to sob.

"I-I didn't mean to hurt him... I did care about him, Celestia, I really did!" The mare fell to her knees. "I just got so caught up in the excitement of my life, a-and I was scared if you found me, It'd all be taken away!"

The mare continued to sob, her tears running down her face, and casing her eye liner and makeup to run. trotting over to her former student's friend, Celestia put a comforting wing around the distraught earth pony.

"Shhh, it's going to be all right, Applejack." The rainbow-maned alicorn said soothingly, holding the mare tightly. "It's going to be all right."

"Ah-ah miss em' so much, princess! Mah friends and family!" The mare wailed sadly, falling back into her old speech pattern. "Ah-ah wish ah haid never stumbled inta thait stupid force field in Tambelon!"

"I know, my child, I know. There is a reason that the gift of mortality is given to the majority of ponykind." Princess Celestia replied, her voice hinting at a personal pain deep within the alicorn that related to this very subject. "The path of the alicorn is not for all ponies... as my faithful student learned, when she used her magic to give up her own eternal youth."

The mare looked up at her princess hopefully. "Does thait mean... could-could y'all make me normal agahin?"

"Would that we could, fair Applejack. But the energies within thou doth resist even our power." Princess Luna shook her head. "It seems a power even beyond we alicorns hath a greater purpose for thee."

**_So they weren't mad at you for hiding and trying to avoid them?_**

**That right, they were just worried about how I was doing, that's all. The Princess were wonderful rulers, Sugar Cube, I really wish you had had the chance to get to know them.**

**_Wow! So What's you do next?_**

**Next, thay made me ralize that it was time to go..."**

From a distance, the three mares watched Skater sign autographs and meet and greet his fans. Celestia's spell had made it so that the ponies present could not see the three of them, a fact for which AJ was glad.

"He has a wonderful future ahead of him, Applejack." Celestia assured the mare beside her. "His career will take him places, and he will have a wonderful life an family."

"Yes, I just wish it could've been with me." AJ sighed, as Ivy, the mare who had been a business partner to AJ and Glittery, trotted up and started to talk to the stallion. "And IM really, really going to miss him."

"Alas, my fair Applejack, I doth believe your condition hath left you unable to start a family of your own. A price of thine own personal type of immortality, I fear." Princess Luna sighed. "Hast thou made all the arrangement for thine departure?"

"Yeah, my bags are packed, and all my job responsibilities are terminated." AJ sighed, looking at the packed suitcases down by her hooves, and ignoring the painful implications of what the princess of the night had just told her. "I'm ready to move on, and go where ever the winds may take me."

"Are you sure you don't want to return and live at the castle with us, my little pony?" Celestia asked. "You'd be forever amongst friends."

"Thank you, your highness, I really appreciate it." AJ shook her head, "But like you siad, I'm a pony who needs to find her own path in the world."

And as the mare saw Ivy nuzzle up to Skater, a single tear rolled down the old mare's cheek. And then the three ageless ponies vanished in a flash of light, the orange earth mare putting yet another chapter of her long life behind her, forever.


	9. Chapter 9

_Coming to Coltonville_

**_ You went without really saying goodbye? But-but that's so sad! You had to leave your first love like that!_**

**I know that, Sugar Cube, but we both survived the experience. I even heard that later on, Skater and Ivy had the grandest wedding in the history of Manehatten! I was even tempted to go myself, but I didn't want to be recognized. Nope, it was better to have experienced first love like that, than to have never ever loved at all. And even though Skater, Glittery, and all my other Manehatten friends are long gone, they will always be here in my heart.**

**_So where did you go next? Did you go to Baltimare? Or maybe to Tall Tale? Ohhh, it would've been so cool to go to Los Pegasus!_**

**Well, I kind of went back to my wandering through Equestria, working as a migrant farmer and keeping a low profile, until I heard of the rise of a new pony nation far to the south. The old Equestrian colony of Pioneer Point, had grown up into the Ponyland Republic, and there were lots of down on thier luck Equestrians emigrating to this new land of oppournity. Being that it was a nation made up entirely of earth ponies, I thought I might try my luck there.**

**_Ohhh, neat! Did you become a model there, too? You seemed really good at it in Manehatten!_**

**No, my little Apple Blossom, I had already had quite enought of that profession in my life time as Apple Jewel. I decided since I had lived a life like Rarity for my first outing, so I would try my hoof at something like Pinkie Pie would have done- baking, I mean, not parties. So over a century after my time as Apple Jewel, I took the long airship ride from Canterlot to Coltonville in the republic. I used some of the makeup and mane and coat dye tricks Glittery had taught me when I was a model, and set about finding myself a place to begin my third life...**

The sun was rising over another morning in Coltonville and everpony was getting ready for a new day. Business ponies were opening up their stores and shops, and the sounds of cars and trucks moving about the streets with mares and stallions on their daily commute. More technologically advanced then their neighbors to the north in Equestria, life ws a little more fast paced here in the republic, And in a small, yellow baker's shop nestled among the downtown district, one Coltonville mare was feeling just that very time crunch.

Inside that very shop, the baker was going about kneading a pile of dough, when she heard the bell above the door to her shop ring. Looking up from her work, she noticed a blue mare with a green and purple mane come trotting into the bakery.

"Oh, hello! Welcome to the Magic Kitchen bakery!" The lavender mare with a pink mane called out, looking up at the new arrival as she trotted into the shop. "I'm Sweet Berry, the proprietor. What can I help you with today?"

"Oh, hello Miss Sweetberry. It's really a pleasure to meet you. " The mare with the green apple cutie mark replied, inclining her head politely to the baker. "But I'm actually not here as a customer. My name is Apple Pie, and I'm here to respond to your ad you put in the paper."

"Oh, you're here for the baker's assistant's job, huh?" The baker with the two red berry cutie mark asked, looking the new arrival over. "Do you have any experience with baking?"

"Well, I did quite a lot of baking cakes back in Equestria." The mare replied, looking around at the yellow kitchen with pink curtains. "And I can honestly say I know my way around a kitchen, if I do say so myself."

"Good, you're hired. You're the only half-competent looking pony who's responded to the ad." The mare said off handedly, looking up at the clock at the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a delivery to make to Coltonville high. Honeyberry and Bon Bon can show you around the bakery. Anyway, see you later! Looking forward to working with you!" The mare quickly bolted out the door, leaving the bewildered mare before she could even say a word.

_"That's great!, but..."_ Apple pie thought to herself, confused. _... who the hay is she talking about?"_

It was at that point, that two fillies came tearing down the stairs above, galloping at top speed.

"Darn it Honeyberry, get back here!" The yellow teenage mare yelled, chasing the smaller pony. "We need that flour for the cake mix!"

"Not until ya can catch me!" The little pink mare with the smiley face cutie mark yelled back, running away from the other filly. " Nya nya!"

The two mares were running so fast, they plowed right into the surprise Apple Pie. The poor mare was sent flying, knocked straight back into the kitchen, and crashing into some pots and pans.

"AIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" CRASH!

"Omygosh! Are you ok?" The yellow teen with the wrapped bonbon cutie mark said in shock, standing over the groggy mare lying on the floor. "Ohhh, Honeyberry, wait until your mother hears about this!"

" Me? This is all your fault, Bon Bon! Your days as my momma's apprentice are done!" The little filly with the pink mane looked down at the dizzy mare. "You ok, lady? You really don't look so well..."

And as she lay there trying to pull her wits together, Apple Pie realized that this lifetime was going to be quite an incredible adventure, indeed.

**And ohhh boy, I had no idea what kind of adventures were ahead of me, sugar cube. My time in Coltonville would turn out to be just as exciting as my time in Manehatten. **

**Huh? did you get another boyfriend there?**

**No, my little Sugarcube... but I did find what it's like to have a family again there...**


	10. Chapter 10

_Baking and Babysitting_

**_So you went to work for Miss Sweetberry as a baker?_**

Yep, and it wasn't really hard to find a one room studio apartment with an attached bathroom nearby. See, the one thing I discovered about some of these Coltonville ponies was that you wave a few jangles in front of thier faces, and they won't ask you that many questions. So, with a new job and place to live, I spent the next week learning the ropes of my new employment...

"Apple! Mr. Barrington will be here to get his order in ten minutes!" Sweetberry yelled back into the kitchen. "Could you please get that cherry pie out of the oven?"

"Coming right up, Mrs. Berry!" Apple Pie yelled back. Pulling the over open with her mouth, the mare slipped the pair of oven mitts onto her hooves, and pulled the steaming hot baked good out of the oven. On the other side of the kitchen, Bon Bon was finishing up with the cookie sheet full of donuts she had been baking- and eating half on the merchandise as she had been making it.

"Wow, that's quite an appetite you have there, Miss Bon Bon." Apple Pie noted, thinking about how different this Bon Bon was from a pony she had known long ago. "I don't think I've ever seen one pony eat as much in one minute."

"You really think so? *mph* That's what Starlight and my friends all say." The yellow filly replied, crumbs falling out of her mouth as she talked. "My boyfriend says I should really stop stuffing my face, 'cause I want to be a model, after all."

_"You? A Model?"_ The amused Apple thought to herself, looking at the mare who couldn't stop feeding her face. _"Well, I certainly hope you learn to be a little less messy!"_

They had just finished and bagged the order, that a white stallion with a rainbow-colored mane and spectacles came trotting into the bakery, a very 'business'-like serious look on his face. Sweetberry turned around, and smiled when she saw him.

"Ahhh, Mr. Barrington! So good to see you again!" The baker handed him the plastic bag with her hoof. "That'll be seventy-five jangles, please."

"Thank you, miss Berry, always a pleasure doing business with you." The stallion with the red automobile cutie mark replied, adjusting his spectacles. "By the way, we've got the new delivery van you ordered over at the dealership. You can come pick it up whenever you like."

"Ohhh, thank you so much!" Sweetberry smiled, smiling gratefully. "Would you mind if I caught a ride with you to your work, and picked it up? I have a really busy day ahead of me, and it's be a really big help."

"Okay, mom! Got my homework all done!" It was at that point, that Honeyberry came bounding down the steps, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm all ready to go to the park!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear." The mother frowned looking back at her little girl. "Mommy's got an errand to run, and we'll have to put the trip off until tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." The little filly's face drooped, as she looked away. "You've got stuff to do, I understand."

As Honeyberry sulked her way back up the steps, Apple Pie thought back to another little earth filly who she had seen that disappointed look on the face of. Stepping forward, the bakery's newest employee quickly spoke up.

"Excuse me, me Sweetberry? I'd be happy to take her!" The blue mare interjected, putting a hoof on the little filly. "I've been meaning to get out and see more of Coltonville, anyway!"

"Really, that'd be great!" Honeyberry whinnied excitedly, hopping up can down. "Can I go with her mom, can I? Can I?"

"I don't know..." Sweetberry asked skeptically. "...are you sure it won't be too much trouble?"

"It's okay, Miss Sweetberry! I can go with them!" Bon Bon assured her, smiling as she downed another donut from her bag. "I'll help Apple keep an eye on her."

"Well, okay. Just be sure to get her back by nine!" Sweetberry replied, as she and Mr. Barrington quickly trotted out the door. "See the three of you later!"

**It seems Sweetberry was busy with retrieving her new van, so I just thought I was doing her a favor by taking the filly to the park. And so Bon Bon and I took the little filly out to play, and I think that was first time the little filly had had a good time in ages...**

"Wheeeee! This is fun!" The little filly exclaimed, as Apple pushed her on the swing with her hoof. "I wanna go higher! I wanna go higher!"

Bon Bon and Apple Pie played with Honeyberry all afternoon, from throwing and catching a ball with her out in the open field, to bouncing up and down with her on the teeter totter. But every time Apple Pie looked at the little filly, she saw another little pony with a red mane and hair ribbon who kept asking her big sister to play with her again and again. At the moment, Apple Pie was watching the little filly play on the monkey bars with the other foals, when Bon Bon's voice snapped her out of it.

"Miss Sweetberry wasn't always like this, you know. Honeyberry used to be her world." The teen filly sighed, looking up at the children playing. "But after her husband died, she's buried herself in her work."

"Wait, you mean she doesn't have any time for that little filly?" Apple Pie asked in shock. "I understand the importance of work, but family is really important, too."

"That's why she started working so hard, taking control of the bakery like that. She wanted to provide for Honeyberry." Bon Bon explained. "But as she got busy, the business kind of became more important that the reason for working it, and- well, you can figure it out."

"That's so sad." Apple replied sadly, as the little filly dropped down from the monkey bars. "Everypony... every_body_... should have someone to care about them."

"Hey, girls! Some of the other girls wanna takes turns braiding each others manes!" Honeyberry motioned them over with her hoof, where several other fillies sat in a circle. "Wanna come join us?"

Apple Pie and Bon Bon looked at each other for moment, and then shrugged.

"Aw, why the hay not?" Apple Pie said with a laugh. "I haven't had my mane braided since I was a filly!"

"My little sister does it to me all the time!" Bon Bon giggled, as the two trotted their way over to the other ponies. "Maybe it'll be fun!"

**Two things I learned that day, sugar cube. One, not all mommy ponies are always loving to their children, even if they don't mean to be like that.**

**_What's the other?_**

**Don't let a bunch of little fillies loose on your mane, unless you want it to end up looking like a tangled bush.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Strictly Business_

**So you were a big help to Sweetberry at the bakery?**

Yes child, but I was an even bigger help to her with that daughter of hers. With me playing babysitter for Honeyberry, her mother was freed up to work more on business matters, and she didn't have to waste time on frivolous things like playing with her daughter, or being a mother, or any nonsense like that. She could then use her valuable time to the all-important task of acquiring more profit...

Apple Pie was working in the kitchen, cutting apples and putting the soft crust on the pie, when she heard the bell above the bakery's door ring. Looking out into the store section, she saw a pink stallion and a white stallion, both with rainbow manes, trot into the bakery.

"Mr. Barrington! Mr. Meadowsweet! Welcome!" Sweetberry welcomed the two of them, stepping out from behind the counter. "Please, do come in! I'm really eager to get down to business!"

Apple Pie went back to work, but she couldn't help overhearing the conversation between the three ponies sitting in the other room, and drinking coffee and having donuts. Mr. Barrington she knew, the stallion who had been in here the other day to tell Sweetberry her new van was ready. But this other pink stallion, a farmer who owned a parcel of land just outside of Coltonville, he was knew to Apple Pie. As the mare put the pie she had been baking into the oven, she heard the three's conversation continue.

"So you see, Mr. Meadowsweet, if I could get the ingredients for my pies from your farm exclusively- at a discounted price, or course- and I'm sure that would help your business out extraordinarily!" Sweetberry offered. "And I'm sure we could find an extra shelf to sell your wife's homemade pies to our customers on!"

"That sounds like an excellent plan, Miss Sweetberry!" Mr. Meadowsweet replied, nodding his head in agreement. "Why my boy Corny can even help you loading up your van when you come next week!"

"Count my boy Logan in on helping, too!" Mr. Barrington agreed, taking a sip of his coffee. "He'll always drop whatever he's doing to make an extra dollar besides his allowance!"

"Thank you for bringing Mr. Meadowsweet here to my bakery, Mr. Barrington!" Sweetberry thanked him, bowing her head gratefully. "This could turn out to be very profitable for all of us."

"Oh yes, this could be quite profitable for all of us." Mr. Barrington agreed, rubbing his chin with his hoof thoughtfully. "Say I wonder if we could expand our business even further by contacting..."

As Apple Pie continued to listen, she could only think of how... _obsessed_ these ponies were with profit, with the gathering of material wealth, more than any kind of happiness or friendship or concern for thier families. Now, she herself had been all for making a profit back in her day, but that was always to make life better for her family. These three only seemed to care about making more money simply for the money's sake, not a means to an end. She even wondered how much say the two boys had in the work thier fathers 'volunteered' them for, and what she might be able to do to help make their lives easier...

_**"Those poor colts! Were you able to help them? What about Sweetberry?**_

"Well sugar cube, the opportunity to assist them came not long after. But it was not exactly the way I would have wanted it.

"Happy Birthday, Honeyberry!" Apple Pie exclaimed with a smile, handing her a carefully wrapped box. "Go ahead, open it!"

With a big grin on her face, the little filly quickly tore the wrapper off with her flexible hooves (a trait republic ponies have, which their Equestrian cousins do not), and eagerly threw off the box lid. As she gazed into the box, Honeyberry's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh wow, a diamond encrusted hairbow!" The little filly squealed in delight, fixing the bedazzled bow in her mane. "Thank you so much, Apple, I totally love it!"

"I thought you might." Apple Pie replied, a soft smile on her face. "it belonged to my little sister, it was one of her favorites."

"You have little sister?" The filly asked in surprise, looking back at the blue mare. "It musta been hard leaving her back in Equestria when you emigrated here."

"I actually helped bring her up, just like my big brother helped bring me up when I was a filly." Apple Pie replied sadly, looking away. "I really miss them both so much.."

As the two were celebrating the filly's birthday inside, Mr. Meadowsweet had just left Sweetberry off across the street, and she was walking back towards the bakery. But it wasn't her dear daughter's birthday on her mind, but rather a new business deal that was brewing in her thoughts that kept the mare busy.

_"If I can just get my bakery advertised on PTV, I'll be up to my muzzle in customers!"_ She thought gleefully thought to herself. _But it's going to cost a lot of jangles to get a television celebrity like Dazzle to promote my products-"_

Her mind was so preoccupied with her business, that the mare never saw the swerving car barreling down the street towards her. She never saw the drunken stallion behind the wheel swerving at the last second to try and avoid her. The last thing that Sweetberry saw was the headlights of the speeding vehicle bearing down on her, and the poor mare was frozen in place before them.

*SCCCCRRRRRRRRRRREEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! CRASH!*

"Huh?" Honeyberry asked in confusion. "What was that that noise?"

"It came from outside." Apple Pie replied, as the two looked towards the door. "sounds like a car accident!"

The two ponies rushed outside, and were greeted by the sight of a red station wagon smashed up against an electric pole beside the shop. But as Honeyberry looked over towards the front of the car, she saw a familiar pink mane lying just in front of the wheel, with a small steam of blood leaking away from the wrecked auto, and flowing down the storm drain on the curb.

"Mama..." The little filly cried in terror, starting to rush over to the downed pony. "MAMA!"

"No, don't look!" Apple Pie yelled, grabbing the filly, ad stopping her from running over to the grisly scene. "Don't look, sugar cube... you don't need to see that."

As pony bystanders gathered to gawk and sirens began to blare in the background, a lone filly and mare stood looking on holding each other and crying as the whole cold and unfeeling world around them seems to close in...


End file.
